Thread: 1820s Wade and Butcher Tempered Steel

Snagged this one on ebay the other day. One of the harder to find WBs, with 'Patent Tempered Steel' that appears on many razors of the era. I hesitate to jump to the conclusion, but it looks like it has most of the original finish.

There is a perfect mirror on the blade, which is so hard to get right when restoring, with no tool marks, and no signs of a regrind. The line of angle change on the tang is a little blurred, which gives me some hesitation, although it could have come that way. The brass pins are also shiny, which means they have been polished recently, but the lead wedge looks clean and the jimps are pretty sharp.

So all in all, it's seen some water, but I think this is as-produced. If so, that's pretty cool for something this age.

Very very nice find my friend. Please show us the after pics once it's cleaned up.
Thanks for sharing

Its Good to know that Someone worthy beat me out fer that beauty!! I was really kinda hoping I'd be able to snag it!! Just happy it went to a good home! are you planning on restoring it in any way? or are you gonna leave that beautiful Patina on it?

Originally Posted by Murmle

Its Good to know that Someone worthy beat me out fer that beauty!! I was really kinda hoping I'd be able to snag it!! Just happy it went to a good home! are you planning on restoring it in any way? or are you gonna leave that beautiful Patina on it?

That's the great thing, is that there really is no patina, just a streak of ugly deep pitting. I'm going to do a full restore to factory on the scales but leave the blade untouched. I've been after an example of a blade how it looked leaving the shop from this early period.

That's Awesome. I really like the way it looks just the way it is. I can't wait to see it with it's suit freshly laundered.

It is a nice find for sure and looks like a fine restore candidate. I must say I'm a little envious but way too heavy on razors and project razors at the same time. i look forward to seeing the final results.

Originally Posted by ScienceGuy

That's the great thing, is that there really is no patina, just a streak of ugly deep pitting. I'm going to do a full restore to factory on the scales but leave the blade untouched. I've been after an example of a blade how it looked leaving the shop from this early period.

You know what'd be interesting? Polishing the blade but leaving the markings on the tang and spine.

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

You know what'd be interesting? Polishing the blade but leaving the markings on the tang and spine.

Yeah they're staying. The pitting is so deep that you'd have to take off 1/2 mm of surface to get under them. Someone must have either closed it wet or let water (or something nasty) sit between the scales and the blade. I just unpinned and ran over the blade with some Mother's, that's as far as I'll go there.

Originally Posted by ScienceGuy

Yeah they're staying. The pitting is so deep that you'd have to take off 1/2 mm of surface to get under them. Someone must have either closed it wet or let water (or something nasty) sit between the scales and the blade. I just unpinned and ran over the blade with some Mother's, that's as far as I'll go there.

Yeah, that's often what happens, i think, the scales hold the moisture. Looks nice, anyway...

Decided to make this an ongoing restoration thread. I took the razor apart tonight, and here's what I got.

The original surfaces before disassembly:





The parts laid out. Notice the difference in finish between the center of the scale and the part covered by the wedge:



But then it gets interesting. I started sanding the scales, and almost immediately got to striking blonde horn:



On the untouched scale, you can see where chips and cracks are by the light that comes through them:



And the surface looks almost like it's cracking and bubbling:



I've ruled out that it was just dirt and gunk that I've sanded through. It was way too uniform and wasn't the same as normal grime I see on old scales. So my question - were these ever treated with a surface stain or varnish or something along those lines?